BAIMA, GIOVANNI. — Born in Pinerolo on 17 January 1817, died in Rome on 6 April 1881. He professed among the Oblates of Mary Immaculate on 2 August 1833 and departed for the mission of Ava and Pegu, of which he was elected apostolic vicar. He was consecrated bishop on 25 April 1840 in Calcutta. Afflicted by the harsh climate and exertions, he was obliged to return to Europe in April 1856. There he was tasked with substituting for the exiled archbishop of Turin, Monsignor Fransoni, and occasionally for other bishops whose sees were vacant due to government opposition in much of Piedmont, until 1867. Appointed Primate of Sardinia, he left Turin on 27 December 1871 for Cagliari, where he carried out a fruitful decade of religious renewal.
BIBL.: L. Gallo, Storia del Cristianesimo nell’Impero Bizantino, III, Milan 1862, pp. 151, 160; T. Piatti, Cento anni di apostolato degli Oblati di M. V., Rome 1926, p. 31.